Oleander wrote:Are the Top 10% videos the current trend in amv creation? I have been a site member for about 7 years and have watched amv's for at least 10 and I have to say the current Top videos are some of the best in regard to technical skill but the worst artistically. I'm not necessarily saying that they are bad videos but I remember when watching an amv would pull at your emotions but now it seems like everyone is just trying to show off with how good they can use their favorite editing program. It has been awhile since I have checked out some new videos and I would like to hear some opinions on this, especially from the old timers.
Frankly I'd suggest this has more to you (and probably some other "old timers" becoming jaded over the years rather than some vast slide in quality.
For instance, saying "but I remember when watching an amv would pull at your emotions" is extremely anecdotal: if I could find a person who felt they were emotionally moved by some amvs in the top 10%, would that not disprove your theory? I believe editing styles have become somewhat faster paced and likely more montage styled, but that doesn't make them worse by any means. You're holding new amvs to a standard that simply never existed: amvs 7 years ago were the same arms race of technical acumen as they are now, 90% of it was tripe and the good stuff was conceptually identical to the quality amvs being produced today.
I don't even think the "Style before substance" idiom is applicable here. Amvs are, like film, a fundamentally visual medium. To castigate those who apply themselves to that side of the process is in my mind a grave mistake, and it misses a large deal of the point. An amv that is visually creative, beauteous, or meaningful is extremely substantive. The so called "substance" people are forever looking for is just a mime of theater and film that should not be considered the paramount concern of an amv, let alone the
sole aspect to be judged. A visually stunning amv justifies its existence, but one that offers only an "idea" would be better implemented as a fanfic.
Of course, I'm not talking about those amvs in which the concept directly deals with or affects the visual content, but I believe amvs are flourishing in that regard more than ever.